A villager collecting fodder for cattle was killed by a wild elephant in Jalpaiguri district on Friday morning.

The deceased was Sitaram Chhetri, a 63-year-old resident of the Upper Kalabari area in Nagrakata block.

Sources said he was collecting fodder for his cattle from a field in the village when an elephant suddenly came out of the nearby Diana forest. The elephant chased Chhetri through an agricultural field. The animal got hold of Chhetri, wrapped him with the trunk, and tossed him to the ground. Chhetri somehow managed to take shelter in a cowshed.

Local people steered the elephant back to the forest and took Chhetri to the primary health centre in Banahat. He was referred to the super-specialty hospital in Malbazar but died on the way.

Foresters have visited the spot. They said the forest department would give compensation to the next of kin of Chhetri.

Narcotics seized

Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that guards the India-Nepal border seized narcotics and sedative tablets in separate incidents in the past 24 hours. Three persons have been arrested.

Sources said Kalimpong district police had intercepted two persons riding a two-wheeler on Thursday night during a routine check on NH10. The police searched Arjun Tamang and Arpan Tamang and seized 700 sedative tablets from them. The duo are from Rangpo Naya Kaman.

The 41st battalion of the SSB apprehended Raben Barman, a resident of Manjayjote under the jurisdiction of Kharibari police station, on Friday at Panitanki, which is on the Indo-Nepal border.

He was allegedly carrying around 50 grams of brown sugar (a derivative of heroin) and was handed over to the police.